Company Building Floating Apartment Complexes Starting 2014 & That’s Just The Beginning
Designed for developer ONW/BNG GO, The Citadel is a flotilla of apartments in one modern luxury development. The project, which will begin building work early next year, will consist of 60 units in a high density arrangement (30 units per acre of water). Part of the project means halting some flood defenses and letting the water back in. Olthuis points out that countries like Japan & Holland have as many as 3,500 polders (patches of low-lying land that are protected by artificial dikes) which are below sea level and kept dry by pumping water out 24/7. This new development, dubbed Green Float, will essentially be re-flooded after centuries of being kept artificially dry.
Lightweight construction on top of a main deck and easy connections to land are part of the program designed to deliver the same level of comfort as in a high-rise building. A large, heavy, floating concrete caisson provides the foundation, and will support the apartments. These will consist of 180 modular elements, all arranged around a central courtyard.
Construction will take place in a temporary dry dock. When construction is completed, explains Olthuis, the pumps will stop and the site will flood. Once the site has been “depolderized,” the Citadel will float in 60 feet of water, which will later rise to 120 feet in depth. A floating bridge will connect the Citadel to the mainland during certain hours, allowing residents and vehicles access. The architects maintain that due to the large size of the overall concrete caisson base, which is 840 x 2420 x 9 feet in size, residents will not be able to detect any water-related motion.
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